Unmanned aerial vehicle dispatching method, server, base station, system, and readable storage medium

ABSTRACT

An aerial vehicle dispatching method includes obtaining an aerial vehicle use request, determining a flight task according to the aerial vehicle use request, the flight task including a target flight area, in response to the flight task, determining a target aerial vehicle from a plurality of aerial vehicles, controlling the target aerial vehicle to perform the flight task in the target flight area, controlling the target aerial vehicle to obtain sensing data in the target flight area while performing the flight task, and sending the sensing data to a terminal device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of International Application No.PCT/CN2021/081383, filed Mar. 17, 2021, the entire content of which isincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of aerial vehicle and, moreparticularly, to an unmanned aerial vehicle dispatching method, aserver, a base station, a system, and a readable storage medium.

BACKGROUND

With the rapid development of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)manufacturing industry, UAVs are widely applied in various fields suchas aerial surveying, power line inspections, natural gas (oil) pipelineinspections, forest fire prevention, disaster relief, and smart cities.UAVs are applied in a broader range and by more people. Currently,people buy the UAV first and then bring the UAV to the field forphotographing. However, one UAV is expensive. After buying the UAV, theUAV needs further maintenance. The cost of the maintenance can also behigh. Thus, the barrier to using the UAV can be high, and the userexperience is poor.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the disclosure, there is provided an aerial vehicledispatching method. The method includes obtaining an aerial vehicle userequest, determining a flight task according to the aerial vehicle userequest, the flight task including a target flight area, in response tothe flight task, determining a target aerial vehicle from a plurality ofaerial vehicles, controlling the target aerial vehicle to perform theflight task in the target flight area, controlling the target aerialvehicle to obtain sensing data in the target flight area whileperforming the flight task, and sending the sensing data to a terminaldevice.

Also in accordance with the disclosure, there is provided an aerialvehicle dispatching method. The method includes obtaining an aerialvehicle use request, determining a flight task according to the aerialvehicle use request, the flight task including a target flight area, inresponse to the flight task, determining a target base station from aplurality of base stations, based on the flight task, controlling, bythe target base station, an aerial vehicle to fly to the target flightarea, after the aerial vehicle reaches the target flight area,controlling, by the target base station, the aerial vehicle to performthe flight task in the target flight area, and obtaining sensing datasent by the aerial vehicle, the sensing data being collected while theaerial vehicle performs the flight task.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a scenario of an unmanned aerialvehicle (UAV) dispatching method consistent with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a UAV dispatching method consistentwith an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of another UAV dispatching methodconsistent with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a scenario of replacing a targetUAV consistent with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a server consistent with anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station consistentwith an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a UAV dispatching systemconsistent with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The technical solution of embodiments of the present disclosure isdescribed in detail in connection with accompanying drawings ofembodiments of the present disclosure. Described embodiments are someembodiments of the present disclosure, not all embodiments. Based onembodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained bythose of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort should bewithin the scope of the present disclosure.

The flowchart shown in the accompanying drawings is illustrative, is notrequired to include all contents and operations/steps, and is notnecessarily executed in the order described. For example, certainoperations/steps can be further divided, combined, or partially merged.Therefore, the actual execution order can vary as needed.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail inconnection with the accompanying drawings. When there is no conflict,embodiments and features of the embodiments below can be combined witheach other.

Embodiments of the disclosure are described below using UAV as anexample. However, embodiments of the disclosure can also be applied toother types of vehicles, such as other types of aerial vehicles.Further, some example methods consistent with the disclosure aredescribed below with base station(s) involved, but methods consistentwith the disclosure are also applicable to scenarios without basestation.

With the rapid development in the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)manufacturing industry, UAVs are widely applied in various fields suchas aerial surveying, power line inspections, natural gas (oil) pipelineinspections, forest fire prevention, disaster relief, and smart cities.UAVs are applied in a broader range and by more people. Currently,people buy the UAV first and then bring the UAV to the field forphotographing. However, UAV is expensive. After buying the UAV, the UAVneeds further maintenance. The cost of the maintenance can also be high.Thus, the barrier to using the UAV can be high, and the user experienceis poor.

To address the above issues, embodiments of the present disclosureprovide a UAV dispatching method, a server, a base station, a system,and a readable storage medium. Based on a UAV lease request from aterminal device, a flight task and a target flight area of ato-be-dispatched UAV can be determined. A target base station of theto-be-dispatched UAV of a plurality of base stations can control anavailable UAV to perform the flight task in the target flight area.Then, the server can obtain image data collected by the UAV performingthe flight task that is sent by the target base station. The server cansend the image data to the terminal device for display to implementleasing and dispatching of the UAV. The user does not need to buy a UAV,which greatly reduces the application barrier of the UAV and improvesthe application convenience of the UAV.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a scene of a UAV dispatchingmethod consistent with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shownin FIG. 1 , the scene includes a server 100, a plurality of basestations 200 communicatively connected to the server 100, and aplurality of UAVs 300 communicatively connected to the plurality of basestations 200. The plurality of base stations 200 can be configured tocontrol the plurality of UAVs 300. In some embodiments, the server 100can include a wireless communication device, a base station 200 caninclude a first wireless communication device and a second wirelesscommunication device, and a UAV 300 can include a third wirelesscommunication device. The server 100 can be communicatively connected tothe base station 200 through the wireless communication device of theserver and the first wireless communication device of the base station200. The base station 200 can be communicatively connected to the UAV300 through the second wireless communication device of the base station200 and the third wireless communication device of the UAV 300.

In some embodiments, the UAV 300 can be communicatively connected to theserver 100 through the fourth wireless communication device of the UAV300 and the wireless communication device of the server 100. The firstwireless communication device and the fourth wireless communicationdevice can be public network wireless communication devices. The publicnetwork wireless communication device can include but is not limited toa 4G communication device, a 5G communication device, and a 6Gcommunication device. The second wireless communication device and thethird wireless communication device can include private network wirelesscommunication devices, including network wireless communication devicesimplemented based on Lightbridge and Ocusync of Software Defined Radio(SDR).

In some embodiments, a first wireless communication link and a secondwireless communication link can be established between the base station200 and the UAV 300. The first wireless communication link can be aprivate wireless communication link, and the second wirelesscommunication link can be a public network wireless communication link.The first wireless communication link can be established through thesecond wireless communication device of the base station 200 and thethird wireless communication device of the UAV 300. The second wirelesscommunication link can be established between the first wirelesscommunication device of the base station 200 and the fourth wirelesscommunication device of the UAV 300.

In some embodiments, the UAV 300 includes a body 310, a power system 320arranged at the body 310, a photographing device 330, and a controlsystem (not shown in FIG. 1 ). The power system 320 can be configured toprovide movement power to the UAV 300. The photographing device 330 canbe configured to collect image data. The UAV 300 can include arotary-wing UAV, such as a single-rotor UAV, a dual-rotor UAV, aquad-rotor UAV, a hexa-rotor UAV, and an octa-rotor UAV, or a fixed-wingUAV, or a combination of rotary-wing and fixed-wing UAVs, which are notlimited here.

The power system 320 can include one or more propellers 321, one or moremotors 322 corresponding to the one or more propellers, and one or moreelectronic speed controllers (i.e., ESCs). A motor 322 can be connectedbetween an electronic speed controller and a propeller 321. The motor322 and the propeller 321 can be arranged at the body 310 of the UAV300. The ESC can be configured to receive a drive signal generated bythe control system and provide a drive current to the motor 322according to the drive signal to control the speed of the motor 322. Themotor 322 can be configured to drive the propeller 321 to rotate toprovide the power for the movement of the UAV 300. The power can causethe UAV 300 to achieve movement in one or more degrees of freedom. Insome embodiments, the UAV 300 can rotate around one or more rotationaxes. For example, the rotation axes can include a roll axis, a yawaxis, and a pitch axis. The motor 322 can be a DC motor or an AC motor.Furthermore, the motor 322 can be a brushless motor or a brush motor.

The control system can include a processor and a sensor system. Thesensor system can be configured to measure attitude information of theUAV 300, i.e., spatial position information and status information, forexample, a 3D position, a 3D angle, a 3D speed, a 3D acceleration, and a3D angular speed. The sensor system can include, for example, at leastone of a gyroscope, an ultrasonic sensor, an electronic compass, anInertial Measurement Unit (IMU), a visual sensor, a Global NavigationSatellite System (GNSS), or a barometer. For example, the GNSS caninclude the Global Positioning System (GPS). The processor can beconfigured to control the movement of the UAV 300. For example, themovement of the UAV 300 can be controlled according to the attitudeinformation of the sensor system. Thus, the processor can control theUAV 300 according to pre-programmed instructions.

In some embodiments, the terminal device can be communicativelyconnected to the server 100. The server 100 can be configured to receivea UAV lease request from the terminal device and determine the flighttask to be executed and the target flight area for executing the flighttask according to the UAV lease request. The server 100 can be furtherconfigured to obtain the target base station of the UAV performing theflight task from the plurality of base stations 200, send the flighttask and the target flight area to the target base station to enable thetarget base station to control an idle UAV 300 to perform the flighttask within the target flight area. The server 100 can be furtherconfigured to obtain the image data collected by the UAV whileperforming the flight task sent by the target base station and send theimage data to the terminal device for display.

In some embodiments, the base station 200 can obtain the flight tasksand the target flight area sent by the server 100. The flight task andthe target flight area can be determined by the server 100 according tothe UAV lease request sent by the terminal device. The base station 200can be further configured to determine the idle target UAV from theplurality of UAVs 300, control the target UAV to fly to the targetflight area, and after reaching the target flight area, control thetarget UAV to perform the flight task within the target flight area. Thebase station 200 can be further configured to obtain the image data sentby the target UAV and send the image data to the server 100 to send theimage data to the terminal device for display. The image data can becollected when the target UAV performs the flight task. The image datacan be an example of sensing data.

The terminal device can include but is not limited to a smartphone/cellphone, a tablet, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a desktop computer,a media content player, a video game console/system, a virtual realitysystem, an augmented reality system, a wearable device (such as a watch,glasses, gloves, a headwear (e.g., a hat, a helmet, a virtual realityheadset, an augmented reality headset, a Head Mounted Display (HMD), aheadband), a pendant, an armband, a leg ring, shoes, a vest), a gesturerecognition device, a microphone, any electronic device capable ofproviding or rendering image data, or any other types of devices. Theterminal device can be handheld and portable. The terminal device can becarried by the user. In some embodiments, the terminal device can beaway from a human user, and the user can control the terminal deviceusing wireless and/or wired communication.

The UAV dispatching method of embodiments of the present disclosure isdescribed in detail in connection with the scene in FIG. 1 . The scenein FIG. 1 is only used to explain the UAV dispatching method ofembodiments of the present disclosure and does not limit the scene ofthe UAV dispatching method of embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a UAV dispatching method consistentwith an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the UAV dispatching method includes processes S101to S104.

At S101, the UAV lease request sent by the terminal device is obtained,and the to-be-performed flight task (also referred to as a “targetflight task”) and the target flight area while performing the flighttask are determined according to the UAV lease request. The UAV leaserequest can be an example of an aerial vehicle use request consistentwith the disclosure.

The terminal device can display the UAV lease page, which includes acity map, a task list, and a leasing confirmation icon. In response to auser selection operation on an operation task in the task list, theoperation task selected by the user can be determined. In response tothe user selection operation on the area of the city map, the targetflight area selected by the user can be marked on the city map. Inresponse to the user trigger operation on the lease confirmation icon,the UAV lease request can be generated according to the operation taskand the target flight area, and the UAV lease request can be sent to theserver.

In some embodiments, the terminal device can obtain geographic locationinformation collected by a Global Positioning System (GPS) device of theterminal device. This geographic location information can be then sentto the server. Then, the server can send the city map corresponding tothe geographic location information to the terminal device. The city mapcorresponding to the geographic location information sent by the servercan be obtained, and the UAV leasing page including the city map can bedisplayed. In some other embodiments, the UAV leasing page can alsoinclude a city search box. The terminal device can obtain the city nameinput by the user in the city search box and send the city name to theserver. Then, the server can send the city map corresponding to the cityname to the terminal device. The city map corresponding to the city namesent by the server can be obtained, and the currently displayed city mapof the UAV leasing page can be updated with the city map correspondingto the city name.

In some embodiments, after receiving the UAV lease request sent by theterminal device, the server can parse the UAV lease request to obtainthe to-be-performed flight task and the target flight area where theflight task is performed. The flight task can include at least twodifferent operation tasks. In some embodiments, the flight task caninclude a safety monitoring task, a scenic aerial photography task, aroad monitoring task, and a spraying operation. The safety monitoringtask can include patrolling within the target flight area, uploading thecollected image data to the server, or uploading the collected imagedata to the base station for forwarding to the server. The scenic aerialphotography task can include the UAV flying in a determined scenic area,photographing an image of scenery or people, and uploading the collectedimage data to the server or the base station for forwarding to theserver. The road surveillance task can include the UAV flying above thedetermined road and uploading the collected image data to the server orto the base station for forwarding to the server. The spraying operationcan include the UAV controlling the spray device to spray in thedetermined area and uploading the collected image data to the server orto the base station for forwarding the image data to the server.

At S102, the target base station to which the UAV performing the flighttask belongs is obtained from the plurality of base stations.

In some embodiments, distances between the target flight area and eachone of the base stations can be determined. Based on these distancesbetween the target flight area and each one of the base stations, thetarget station to which the UAV performing the flight task belongs canbe determined from the plurality of base stations. A base station withthe shortest distance can be selected as the target base station forperforming the flight task. Determining the distance between the targetflight area and the base station can include obtaining first positioninformation of the target flight area and second position information ofthe base station and determining the distance between the target flightarea and the base station according to the first position informationand the second position information. By determining the base stationclosest to the target flight area as the target base station, the targetbase station can quickly dispatch the UAV to perform the flight tasksubsequently.

In some embodiments, the terminal device can display the UAV leasingpage, including a city map, a task list, a leasing confirmation icon,and markers denoting the plurality of base stations on the city map. Inresponse to the user selection operation on the operation task in thetask list, the terminal device can determine the operation task selectedby the user. In response to the user selection operation on the area ofthe city map, the target flight area selected by the user can be markedon the city map. In response to the user selection operation on anymarked icon, base identification information corresponding to the markedicon selected by the user can be obtained. In response to the usertrigger operation on the leasing confirmation icon, the UAV leaserequest can be generated according to the operation task, the targetflight area, and the base station identification information, and theUAV lease request can be sent to the server. The server can obtain theUAV lease request sent by the terminal device to obtain the base stationidentification information, the flight task, and the target flight areafrom the UAV lease request. The base station corresponding to the basestation identification information can be determined from the pluralityof base stations as the target base station.

At S103, the flight task and the target flight area are sent to thetarget base station to control the idle UAV to perform the flight taskin the target flight area.

The server can send the flight task and the target flight area to thetarget base station. The target base station can obtain the flight taskand the target flight area that are sent by the server and determine theidle UAV from the plurality of UAVs communicatively connected to thetarget base station. The determined UAV can be controlled to fly to thetarget flight area. After the UAV reaches the target flight area, theUAV can be controlled to perform the flight task in the target flightarea.

In some embodiments, the server can obtain the flight route of the UAVin the target flight area and send the flight task, the target flightarea, and the flight route to the target base station. The target basestation can control the idle UAV to fly to the target flight area. Afterthe UAV reaches the target flight area, the UAV can be controlled to flyaccording to the flight route. Thus, the UAV can perform the flight taskin the target flight area. The flight route can include a surroundingflight route and/or a strip-shaped flight route.

In some embodiments, obtaining the flight route of the UAV in the targetflight area can include that the server plans the flight route of theUAV in the target flight area. In some other embodiments, the flightroute of the UAV in the target flight area can be obtained from the UAVlease request. The UAV leasing page displayed by the terminal device canfurther include a flight route plan icon. After the target flight areais determined, in response to the user trigger operation on the flightroute plan icon, the flight route of the UAV in the target flight areacan be planned. After determining the flight task, the target flightarea, and the flight route, in response to the user trigger operation onthe leasing confirmation icon, the UAV lease request can be generatedaccording to the flight task, the target flight area, and the flightroute.

At S104, the image data sent by the target base station is obtained andsent to the terminal device for display. The image data is collectedwhen the UAV performs the flight task.

When the UAV performs the flight task, the UAV can send the collectedimage data to the target base station that is communicatively connectedto the UAV. The target base station can obtain the image data sent bythe UAV and forward the image data to the server. The server can obtainthe image data forwarded by the target base station and send the imagedata to the terminal device for display. In some other embodiments, whenperforming the flight task, the UAV can send the collected image datadirectly to the server. The server can obtain the image data sent by theUAV and send the image data to the terminal device for display.

In some embodiments, the server can obtain a photographing parameteradjustment instruction sent by the terminal device. The photographingparameter adjustment instruction can be used to instruct the target basestation to adjust the photographing parameter of the target UAVperforming the flight task. The photographing parameter adjustmentinstruction can be sent to the target base station. Thus, the targetbase station can adjust the instruction based on the photographingparameter to adjust the photographing parameter of the target UAV. Thephotographing parameter can include at least one of an exposureparameter, a focus parameter, a zooming parameter, a photographingdirection, or a photographing angle. By adjusting the photographingparameter, the UAV can obtain the image or video that conforms to theuser requirement.

In some embodiments, after obtaining the image data sent by the targetbase station, the server can determine whether an abnormal event occurswithin the target flight area according to the image data. If theabnormal event occurs in the target flight area, warning promptinformation can be sent to a warning processing platform. Thus, thewarning processing platform can perform a warning operationcorresponding to the warning prompt information. The abnormal event caninclude a robbery event, a vandalism event, a traffic accident event, adrowning incident event, and a falling incident event. By sending thewarning prompt information to the warning processing platform when theabnormal event occurs in the target flight area, the warning processingplatform can perform the corresponding warning operation to facilitatepatrolling personnel to process the abnormal event.

In some embodiments, sending the warning prompt information to thewarning processing platform can include obtaining timestamp informationand location information of the abnormal event, generating thecorresponding warning prompt information according to the timestampinformation and the location information, and sending the warning promptinformation to the warning processing platform. The warning processingplatform can include a safety monitoring platform or a traffic controlplatform. If the abnormal event is a traffic abnormal event, the warningprompt information can be sent to the traffic control platform. Thus,the traffic control platform can output the warning prompt information.If the abnormal event is a safety abnormal event, the warning promptinformation can be sent to the safety monitoring platform. Thus, thesafety monitoring platform can output the warning prompt information. Byoutputting the warning prompt information including the timestampinformation and the location information of the abnormal event, thepatrolling personnel can process the abnormal event in time.

In some embodiments, after obtaining the warning prompt information, thetraffic control platform can obtain the location where the abnormalevent occurs and determine distances between each police station and thelocation where the abnormal event occurs. The traffic control platformcan send the warning prompt information to the police station closest tothe location where the abnormal event occurs to prompt the police toprocess the abnormal event.

In some embodiments, after obtaining the warning prompt information, thesafety monitoring platform can obtain the location where the abnormalevent occurs, obtain the current location information sent by theterminal device held by each patrolling personnel, and determinedistances between each patrolling personnel and the location where theabnormal event occurs according to the location information and thelocation where the abnormal event occurs. The safety monitoring platformcan further send the warning prompt information to the terminal deviceheld by the patrolling personnel closest to the location where theabnormal event occurs to prompt the nearest patrolling personnel toprocess the abnormal event.

In some embodiments, the image data can be input into a predeterminedabnormal event detection model to obtain an abnormal event detectionresult. The abnormal event detection model can be a pre-trained neuralnetwork model. According to the abnormal event detection result, whetherthe abnormal event occurs within the target flight area can bedetermined. The abnormal event detection model can include but is notlimited to a robbery event detection model, a vandalism event detectionmodel, a traffic accident detection model, a drowning incident detectionmodel, and a falling incident detection model. Whether the abnormalevent occurs in the target flight area can be quickly determined throughthe abnormal event detection model.

In some embodiments, training the abnormal event detection model caninclude obtaining a sample dataset. The sample dataset can include aplurality of pieces of positive sample data and a plurality of pieces ofnegative sample data. The positive sample data can include a first imagewithout the abnormal event and a first category label marking it. Thenegative sample data can include a second image with the abnormal eventand a second category label marking it. Training the abnormal eventdetection mode can further include performing iterative training on theneural network model according to the sample dataset until the neuralnetwork converges or a number of iterations reaches a predeterminediteration number to obtain the abnormal event detection model.

In some embodiments, a to-be-followed object sent by the terminal devicecan be obtained. The to-be-followed object can be determined by theterminal device according to a user box-selection operation performed ona target object in the image data. The to-be-followed object can be sentto the target base station. Thus, the target base station can controlthe UAV performing the flight task to follow and photograph theto-be-followed object. The to-be-followed object can include one of apet, a person, or a vehicle. In some other embodiments, the target basestation can obtain the to-be-followed object sent by the terminal deviceand control the UAV to follow and photograph the to-be-followed object.

The UAV dispatching method of embodiments of the present disclosure canbe applied to different scenes. For example, in a safety monitoringscene, the terminal device can be configured to obtain the safetymonitoring task and the monitoring area selected by the user, obtain thetarget base station to which the UAV performing the safety monitoringtask belongs from the plurality of base stations, and send the safetymonitoring task and the monitoring area to the target base station. Thetarget base station can control the idle UAV to perform the safetymonitoring task in the monitoring area. When the UAV performs the safetymonitoring task, the UAV can transmit the collected image data back tothe target base station. The target base station can then upload theimage data to the server for storage or to forward the image data to theterminal device for display. The server can determine whether anabnormal event (e.g., a drowning event) occurs in the monitoring areabased on the received image data. If an abnormal event occurs, thepatrolling personnel can be notified.

For example, in a scenic area follow-photographing scene, the terminaldevice can obtain a scenic area follow-photographing task and a targetscenic area, obtain the target base station to which the UAV performingthe scenic area follow-photographing task from the plurality of basestations, and send the scenic area follow-photographing task and thetarget scenic area to the target base station. The target base stationcan control the idle UAV to fly to the target scenic area and obtain theimage data sent by the UAV after the UAV reaches the target scenic area.The target base station can then send the image data to the terminaldevice, obtain the to-be-followed object box-selected by the user fromthe image data sent by the terminal device, and control the UAV toperform the follow-photographing on the to-be-followed object. The UAVcan upload the image data obtained through the follow-photographing, andthe target base station can then upload the image data to the server, orthe UAV can directly upload the image data to the server.

For example, in a road monitoring scene, the terminal device can obtaina user-selected road monitoring task and a target monitoring roadsection, obtain the target base station to which the UAV performing theroad monitoring task belongs from the plurality of base stations, andsend the road monitoring task and the target monitoring road section tothe target base station. The target base station can control the idleUAV to fly to the target monitoring road section and control the UAV toperform the road monitoring task in the target monitoring road sectionafter the UAV reaches the target monitoring road section. Whileperforming the road monitoring task, the UAV can transmit the collectedimage data back to the target base station. The target base station canthen upload the image data to the server for storage or to forward theimage data to the terminal device for display. The server can determinewhether a traffic accident occurs in the target monitoring road sectionbased on the received image data. If a traffic accident occurs, relevantinformation about the traffic accident can be recorded. The police canbe notified.

For another example, in a remote scenic area aerial photography scene,when the user wants to view any scenic area across the country orglobally, the user can select a target scenic area and a scenic areaaerial photography task through the terminal device. That is, theterminal device can obtain the scenic area aerial photography task andthe target scenic area selected by the user and obtain the target basestation to which the UAV performing the scenic area aerial photographytask belongs from the plurality of base stations and send the scenicarea aerial photography task and the target scenic area to the targetbase station. The target base station can control the idle UAV to fly tothe target scenic area and control the UAV to perform aerial photographyon the target scenic area after the UAV reaches the target scenic area.While performing the aerial photography on the target scenic area, theUAV can transmit the image data obtained through the aerial photographyback to the target base station. The target base station can thenforward the image data to the server. The server can then send the imagedata to the terminal device for display, and the user can view the imagedata. In some other embodiments, the UAV can directly upload the imagedata obtained through aerial photography to the server. The server cansend the image data to the terminal device for display.

For another example, in a vehicle follow-photographing scene, theterminal device can obtain a vehicle follow-photographing task and atarget following area selected by the user, obtain the target basestation to which the UAV performing the vehicle follow-photographingtask belongs from the plurality of base stations, and send the vehiclefollow-photographing vehicle and the target following area to the targetbase station. The target base station can control the idle UAV to fly tothe target following area and obtain the image data sent by the UAVafter the UAV reaches the target follow-photographing area. The basestation can further send the image data to the terminal device, obtainthe target vehicle box-selected by the user from the image data sent bythe terminal device, and control the UAV to perform follow-photographingon the target vehicle. The UAV can upload the photographed image data tothe target base station, and the target base station can upload theimage data to the server, or the UAV can directly upload the image datato the server.

In the UAV dispatching method of embodiments of the present disclosure,the flight task and the target flight area of the to-be-dispatched UAVcan be determined based on the UAV lease request of the terminal device.The target base station to which the to-be-dispatched UAV belongs of theplurality of base stations can control the idle UAV to perform theflight task in the target flight area. Then, the server can obtain theimage data collected when the UAV performs the flight task sent by thetarget base station and send the image data to the terminal device fordisplay. Thus, the lease and dispatching of the UAV can be realized. Theuser can use a UAV without buying a UAV, which greatly lowers thebarrier of using the UAV and improves the application convenience of theUAV.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of another UAV dispatching methodconsistent with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The UAVdispatching method can be applied to a base station. The base stationcan be communicatively connected to a plurality of UAVs and can beconfigured to control the plurality of UAVs.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the UAV dispatching method includes processes S201to S205.

At S201, the flight task and the target flight area that are sent by theserver are obtained. The flight task and the target flight area aredetermined by the server based on the UAV lease request sent by theterminal device.

The terminal device can display the UAV leasing page including the citymap, the task list, and the leasing confirmation icon. In response tothe user selection operation on the operation task in the task list, theoperation task selected by the user can be determined. In response tothe user area selection operation on the city map, the target flightarea selected by the user can be marked on the map. In response to theuser trigger operation on the leasing confirmation icon, the UAV leaserequest can be generated according to the operation task and the targetflight area, and the UAV lease request can be sent to the server. Theserver can obtain the UAV lease request sent by the terminal device,determine the flight task and the target flight area according to theUAV lease request, and send the flight task and the target flight areato the nearest base station to the target flight area. In some otherembodiments, the flight task, the target flight area, and the basestation can be determined according to the UAV lease request, and theflight task and the target flight area can be sent to the determinedbase station.

At S202, the idle target UAV is determined from the plurality of UAVs,and the target UAV is controlled to fly to the target flight area.

For example, the first location information of the target flight areaand the second location information of the target UAV can be obtained.According to the first location information and the second locationinformation, the flight route of the target UAV flying to the targetflight area can be planned. The target UAV can be then controlled to flyalong the route to the target flight area.

At S203, after the UAV reaches the target flight area, the target UAV iscontrolled to perform the flight task in the target flight area.

After the UAV reaches the target flight area, the UAV can send responseinformation to the base station to notify the base station that the UAVreaches the target flight area. Then, the base station can control theUAV to perform the flight task within the target flight area. In someembodiments, the flight route of the target UAV within the target flightarea can be obtained. The target UAV can be controlled to fly along theflight route. Thus, the target UAV can perform the flight task in thetarget flight area. The flight route can include a surrounding flightroute and/or a strip-shaped flight route.

In some embodiments, obtaining the flight route of the target UAV withinthe target flight area can include planning the flight route of thetarget UAV within the target flight area, or obtaining the flight routesent by the server. The flight route can be obtained by the server fromthe UAV lease request. The UAV leasing page displayed by the terminaldevice can further include a flight route plan icon. After determiningthe target flight area, in response to the user trigger operation on theflight route plan icon, the flight route of the UAV in the target flightarea can be planned. After determining the flight task, the targetflight area, and the flight route, in response to the user triggeroperation on the leasing confirmation icon, the UAV lease request can begenerated according to the flight task, the target flight area, and theflight route. Moreover, the UAV lease request can be sent to the server,and the server can parse the UAV lease request sent by the terminaldevice to obtain the flight task, the target flight area, and the flightroute.

At S204, the image data sent by the target UAV is obtained. The imagedata is collected when the target UAV performs the flight task.

At S205, the image data is sent to the server to allow the server tosend the image data to the terminal device for display.

While performing the flight task, the target UAV can send the collectedimage data to the base station communicatively connected to the targetUAV. The base station can obtain the image data sent by the target UAVand forward the image data to the server. The server can then obtain theforwarded image data from the target base station and send the imagedata to the terminal device for display. In some other embodiments,while performing the flight task, the UAV can send the collected imagedata directly to the server. The server can obtain the image data sentby the UAV and send the image data to the terminal device for display.

In some embodiments, the base station can obtain a photographingparameter adjustment instruction sent by the server. The photographingparameter adjustment instruction can be triggered by the terminaldevice. According to the photographing parameter adjustment instruction,the photographing parameter of the camera device carried by the targetUAV can be adjusted. The photographing parameter can include at leastone of the exposure parameter, the focus parameter, the zoomingparameter, the photographing direction, or the photographing angle. Byadjusting the photographing parameter, the UAV can photograph an imageor video that conforms to the user requirement.

In some embodiments, the base station can forward the to-be-followedobject sent by the terminal device. The to-be-followed object can bedetermined according to the box-selection operation performed by theuser on the target object in the image data. The target UAV can becontrolled to follow-photograph the to-be-followed object. Theto-be-followed object can include one of a pet, a person, or a vehicle.In some other embodiments, the base station can obtain theto-be-followed object sent by the terminal device and control the targetUAV to perform follow-photographing on the to-be-followed object.

In some embodiments, after obtaining the image data sent by the targetUAV, the base station can determine whether an abnormal event occurs inthe target flight area according to the image data. If an abnormal eventoccurs in the target flight area, the warning prompt information can besent to the warning processing platform. Thus, the warning processingplatform can perform the corresponding warning operation according tothe warning prompt information. The abnormal event can include a robberyevent, a vandalism event, a traffic accident event, a drowning incidentevent, and a falling incident event. By sending the warning promptinformation to the warning processing platform when the abnormal eventoccurs in the target flight area, the warning processing platform canperform the corresponding warning operation to facilitate the patrollingpersonnel to process the abnormal event.

In some embodiments, sending the warning prompt information to thewarning processing platform can include obtaining, by the base station,the timestamp information and the location information of the abnormalevent, generating the corresponding warning prompt information accordingto the timestamp information and the location information, and sendingthe warning prompt information to the warning processing platform. Thewarning processing platform can include a safety monitoring platform ora traffic control platform. If the abnormal event is a traffic abnormalevent, the warning prompt information can be sent to the traffic controlplatform. Thus, the traffic control platform can output the warningprompt information. If the abnormal event is a safety abnormal event,the warning prompt information can be sent to the safety monitoringplatform. Thus, the safety monitoring platform can output the warningprompt information. By outputting the warning prompt informationincluding the timestamp information and the location information of theabnormal event, the patrolling personnel can process the abnormal eventin time.

In some embodiments, after obtaining the warning prompt information, thetraffic control platform can obtain the location where the abnormalevent occurs and determine distances between each police station and thelocation where the abnormal event occurs. The traffic control platformcan send the warning prompt information to the police station closest tothe location where the abnormal event occurs to prompt the police toprocess the abnormal event.

In some embodiments, after obtaining the warning prompt information, thesafety monitoring platform can obtain the location where the abnormalevent occurs and obtain the current location information sent by theterminal device held by each patrolling personnel, and determinedistances between each patrolling personnel and the location where theabnormal event occurs according to the location information and thelocation where the abnormal event occurs. The safety monitoring platformcan further send the warning prompt information to the terminal deviceheld by the patrolling personnel closest to the location where theabnormal event occurs to prompt the nearest patrolling personnel toprocess the abnormal event.

In some embodiments, the base station can input the image data into apredetermined abnormal event detection model to obtain an abnormal eventdetection result. The abnormal event detection model can be apre-trained neural network model. According to the abnormal eventdetection result, whether the abnormal event occurs within the targetflight area can be determined. The abnormal event detection model caninclude but is not limited to a robbery event detection model, avandalism event detection model, a traffic accident detection mode, adrowning incident detection model, and a falling incident detectionmodel. Whether the abnormal event occurs in the target flight area canbe quickly determined through the abnormal event detection model.

In some embodiments, while controlling the target UAV to perform theflight task, the round trip time of the target UAV between the currentlocation and the base station and the battery life of the target UAV canbe obtained. If a difference between the battery life and the traveltime is smaller than or equal to the predetermined time threshold, thetarget UAV can be controlled to hover. A target waiting point can bedetermined according to the position coordinate of the current locationof the target UAV, and other UAVs of the plurality of UAVs other thanthe target UAV can be controlled to fly to the target waiting point.After the other UAVs reach the target waiting point, the target UAV canbe controlled to fly to the base station, and the other UAVs can becontrolled to continue to perform the flight task. The predeterminedtime threshold can be set as needed, which is not limited here. When thebattery life of the UAV is not sufficient, the UAVs can take turns tocontinuously perform the flight task to greatly improve the userexperience.

In some embodiments, the current location of the target UAV and thetarget waiting point can have a predetermined distance and/or height.The predetermined distance and the predetermined height can be set asneeded. For example, the predetermined distance can be 2 m, and thepredetermined height can be 2 m. Since the current location of thetarget UAV and the target waiting point have the predetermined distanceand/or height, when the other UAVs are controlled to fly to the targetwaiting point, the collision between the target UAV and the other UAVscan be avoided. Thus, the flight safety of the target UAV and the otherUAVs can be ensured.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4 , the target UAV 11 performs the flighttask at the current location 21. The base station is located at a returnpoint 22. When the difference between the battery life of the target UAV11 and the round trip time between the current location 21 and thereturn point 22 is less than or equal to the predetermined timethreshold, the target UAV 11 hovers at the current location 21. Thedetermined target waiting point 23 is a 2 m height away from the currentlocation 21. The other UAVs 12 can be controlled to fly along the flightroute 24 to fly to the target waiting point 23. After the other UAVs 12reach the target waiting point, the target UAV 11 can be controlled tofly to the return point 22. Then, the other UAVs 12 can be controlled tocontinue to perform the flight task.

In some embodiments, a first position coordinate of the current locationof the target UAV and a second position coordinate of the base stationcan be obtained. According to the first position coordinate and thesecond position coordinate, the distance between the target UAV and thebase station can be determined. According to the distance between thetarget UAV and the base station and the flight speed of the target UAV,the round trip time can be determined. In some embodiments, theremaining power of the battery of the UAV can be 3000 mAh, and the powerconsumption of the target UAV per unit time can be 200 mA per minute.Thus, the battery life of the target UAV is 15 minutes. The flight speedof the target UAV can be 4 m/s, and the distance between the currentlocation and the base station can be 200 m. Thus, the round trip time ofthe target UAV between the current location and the base station can be100 s. The battery life can be determined according to the remainingpower of the battery of the UAV and the power consumption of the targetUAV per time unit. The power consumption per time unit can be determinedaccording to the hovering speed and the payload weight of the targetUAV.

In some embodiments, if the difference between the battery life and thecalculated round trip time is less than or equal to the predeterminedtime threshold, the base station can send a UAV replacement promptinformation to the server. Then, the server can send the UAV replacementprompt information to the terminal device for display to notify the userthat the UAV needs to be replaced. If the difference between the batterylife and the calculated round trip time is greater than thepredetermined time threshold, the target UAV can be controlled tocontinue to perform the flight task. In some other embodiments, afterthe target UAV reaches the base station, the target UAV can becontrolled to fly to a charging device. Thus, the charging device cancharge the battery of the target UAV. That is, the target UAV can becontrolled to fly to the charging device to connect the power supplyinterface of the charging device to the battery charging interface ofthe target UAV. Thus, the charging device can charge the battery of theUAV.

In some embodiments, after moving the UAV to the charging device, thecharging device can charge the battery in a fast charging mode. In aconstant-voltage charging stage of the fast charging mode, apredetermined charging strategy can be used to charge the battery. Bymoving the UAV to the charging device, the battery does not need to betaken out to avoid damage to the UAV or the battery while taking out thebattery. The battery can be quickly charged in the fast charging mode.The battery charging can include a pre-charging stage, aconstant-current charging stage, a constant-voltage charging stage, anda recharging stage.

In some embodiments, charging the battery in the fast charging mode bythe charging device can include charging the battery with a constantcurrent (i.e., in the constant-current charging stage), obtaining acharging parameter and/or a battery parameter while charging the batterywith the constant current, and determining whether the battery is in theconstant voltage charging state according to the charging parameterand/or the battery parameter. If the battery enters the constant voltagecharging stage, the battery can be charged using the predeterminedcharging strategy corresponding to the constant voltage charging stage.In the fast charging mode, the battery can be charged through theconstant current charging stage and the constant voltage charging stageto realize the fast charging, which facilitates a cyclic operation.

The predetermined charging strategy can include one of stoppingcharging, stopping charging after a predetermined duration, or stoppingcharging when the charging current drops to a predetermined cutoffcurrent. Stopping charging means no longer charging the battery. Forexample, the charging device can automatically disconnect the chargingcircuit. For another example, the stop instruction can be sent to themicrocontroller of the battery to cause the battery to disconnect thecharging switch to stop charging. For another example, the chargingdevice can automatically disconnect the charging circuit and outputprompt information to prompt the user that the battery is charged.

For stopping charging after the predetermined duration, thepredetermined duration can be set as needed. For example, thepredetermined duration can be 1 minute, 2 minutes, or 3 minutes.Charging can be stopped after charging for the predetermined duration.In some other embodiments, charging can stop after charging for thepredetermined duration and output the prompt information to prompt theuser that the battery is charged. The charging predetermined durationcan be the constant voltage charging stage. Charging can stop when thecharging current lowers to the predetermined cutoff current. Forexample, the constant charging current can be 5.0 A. The predeterminedcutoff current can be set to 4.9 A, 4.8 A, or 4.7 A, which is notlimited here. When the charging current of the battery is lowered to thepredetermined cutoff current, e.g., 4.9 A, charging can be stopped. Insome other embodiments, when the charging current of the battery islowered to the predetermined cutoff current, charging can be stopped.The prompt information can be output to prompt the user that the batteryis charged.

The UAV dispatching method of embodiments of the present disclosure caninclude obtaining the flight task and the target flight area determinedbased on the UAV lease request sent by the server, controlling the idletarget UAV to perform the flight task within the target flight area,obtaining, then, the image data collected while performing the flighttask sent by the target UAV, and sending the image data to the server toallow the server to send the image data to the terminal device fordisplay. Thus, the leasing and controlling of the UAV can be realized.The user can use the UAV without buying the UAV, which greatly lowersthe barrier of using the UAV and improves the application convenience ofthe UAV.

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a server 400 consistent withan embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the server 400 includes a wireless communicationdevice 410, a memory 420, and a processor 430. The wirelesscommunication device 410, the memory 420, and the processor 430 areconnected through a bus 440, such as an Inter-integrated Circuit (I2C)bus.

In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 410 can beconfigured to communicate with a plurality of base stations. Each basestation can be configured to be communicatively connected to a pluralityof UAVs and control the plurality of UAVs.

In some embodiments, the memory 420 can be a Flash chip, a Read-OnlyMemory (ROM) disk, an optical disk, a USB drive, or a portable harddrive.

In some embodiments, the processor 430 can include a MicrocontrollerUnit (MCU), a Central Processing Unit (CPU), or a Digital SignalProcessor (DSP).

The processor 430 can be configured to execute a computer program storedin the memory 420 to implement the following processes.

The UAV lease request sent by terminal device can be obtained. Based onthe UAV lease request, the to-be-performed flight task and the targetflight area when the flight task is performed can be determined.

The target base station to which the UAV performing the flight taskbelongs can be obtained from the plurality of base stations.

The flight task and target flight area can be sent to the target basestation to control the idle UAV to perform the flight task within thetarget flight area.

The image data sent by the target base station can be obtained and sentto the terminal device for display. The image data can be collected whenthe UAV performs the flight task.

In some embodiments, when obtaining the target base station to which theUAV performing the flight task belongs from the plurality of basestations, the processor can be configured to determine the distancebetween the target flight area and each of the base stations anddetermine the target base station to which the UAV performing the flighttask belongs from the plurality of base stations according to thedistance between the target flight area and each of the base stations.

In some embodiment, when obtaining the target base station to which theUAV performing the flight task belongs from the plurality of basestations, the processor can be further configured to obtain the basestation identification information from the UAV lease request anddetermine the base station corresponding to the base stationidentification from the plurality of base stations as the target basestation.

In some embodiments, before sending the flight task and target flightarea to the target base station, the processor can be configured toobtain the flight route of the UAV in the target flight area. Whensending the flight task and the target flight area to the target basestation, the processor can be further configured to send the flighttask, the target flight area, and the flight route to the target basestation to allow the target base station to control the idle UAV to flyaccording to the flight route. Thus, the UAV can perform the flight taskin the target flight area.

In some embodiments, when obtaining the flight route of the UAV in thetarget flight area, the processor can be configured to plan the flightroute of the UAV in the target flight area.

In some embodiments, when obtaining the flight route of the UAV in thetarget flight area, the processor can be configured to obtain the flightroute of the UAV in the target flight area from the UAV lease request.

In some embodiments, the flight route can include a surrounding routeand/or a strip-shaped flight route.

In some embodiments, the processor can be further configured to obtainthe photographing parameter adjustment instruction. The photographingparameter adjustment instruction can be used to indicate the target basestation to adjust the photographing parameter of the target UAVperforming the flight task and send the photographing parameteradjustment instruction to the target base station to allow the targetbase station to adjust the photographing parameter of the target UAVbased on the photographing parameter adjustment instruction.

In some embodiments, the photographing parameters can include at leastone of the exposure parameter, the focus parameter, the zoomingparameter, the photographing direction, and the photographing angle.

In some embodiments, after obtaining the image data sent by the targetbase station, the processor can be configured to determine whether anabnormal event occurs in the target flight area according to the imagedata, and if the abnormal event occurs in the target flight area, sendthe warning prompt information to the warning processing platform toallow the warning processing platform to perform the correspondingwarning operation according to the warning prompt information.

In some embodiments, when sending the warning prompt information to thewarning processing platform, the processor can be further configured toobtain the timestamp information and the location information of theabnormal event and generate the corresponding warning prompt informationaccording to the timestamp information and the location information, andsend the warning prompt information to the warning processing platform.

In some embodiments, the warning processing platform can include thesafety monitoring platform or the traffic controlling platform. Whensending the warning prompt information to the warning processingplatform, the processor can be configured to, if the abnormal event is atraffic abnormal event, send the warning prompt information to thetraffic controlling platform to allow the traffic controlling platformto output the warning prompt information and if the abnormal event is asafety abnormal event, send the warning prompt information to the safetymonitoring platform to allow the safety monitoring platform output thewarning prompt information.

In some embodiments, when determining whether an abnormal event is inthe target flight area, the processor can be configured to input theimage data into the predetermined abnormal event detection model toobtain the abnormal event detection result and determine whether anabnormal event occurs in the target flight area according to theabnormal event detection result. The abnormal event detection model canbe a predetermined neural network model.

In some embodiments, the processor can be further configured to obtainthe to-be-followed object sent by the terminal device and send theto-be-followed object to the target station to allow the target basestation to control the UAV performing the flight task to performfollow-photographing on the to-be-followed object. The to-be-followedobject can be determined according to the box-selection operation of theuser on the target object in the image data by the terminal device.

In some embodiments, the to-be-followed object can include one of a pet,a person, or a vehicle.

Those skilled in the art can understand that for the detailed operationprocess of the server, reference can be made to the correspondingprocess of the UAV dispatching method of embodiments of the presentdisclosure, which is not repeated.

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station 500consistent with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 6 , the base station 500 includes a first wirelesscommunication device 510, a second wireless communication device 520, amemory 530, and a processor 540. The first wireless communication device510, the second wireless communication device 520, the memory 530, andthe processor 540 are connected via a bus 550. The bus 550 can include,for example, an Inter-integrated Circuit (I2C) bus.

In some embodiments, the first wireless communication device 510 can beconfigured to be communicatively connected to the server. The secondwireless communication device 520 can be configured to becommunicatively connected to the plurality of UAVs. The base station 500can be configured to control the plurality of UAVs.

In some embodiments, the memory 530 can be a Flash chip, a read-onlymemory (ROM) disk, a CD, a USB drive, a portable hard disk, etc.

In some embodiments, the processor 540 can be a microcontroller unit(MCU), a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor(DSP), etc.

The processor 540 can be configured to run the computer program storedin the memory 530 to perform the following processes.

The flight task and the target flight area that are sent by the servercan be obtained. The flight task and the target flight area can bedetermined by the server according to the UAV lease request sent by theterminal device.

The idle target UAV can be determined from the plurality of UAVs, andthe target UAV can be controlled to fly to the target flight area.

After the UAV reaches the target flight area, the target UAV can becontrolled to perform the flight task in the target flight area.

The image data sent by the target UAV can be obtained. The image datacan be collected when the target UAV performs the flight task.

The image data can be sent to the server to allow the server to send theimage data to the terminal device for display.

In some embodiments, when controlling the target UAV to perform theflight task in the target flight area, the processor can be furtherconfigured to obtain the flight route of the target UAV in the targetflight area and control the target UAV to fly according to the flightroute to cause the target UAV to perform the flight task in the targetflight area.

In some embodiments, when obtaining the flight route of the target UAVin the target flight area, the processor can be configured to plan theflight route of the UAV in the target flight area.

In some embodiments, when obtaining the flight route of the UAV in thetarget flight area, the processor can be configured to obtain the flightroute of the UAV sent by the server. The flight route can be obtained bythe server from the UAV lease request.

In some embodiments, the flight route can include a surrounding routeand/or a strip-shaped flight route.

In some embodiments, the processor can be further configured to obtainthe photographing parameter adjustment instruction and adjust thephotographing parameter of the camera device carried by the target UAVaccording to the photographing parameter adjustment instruction. Thephotographing parameter adjustment instruction can be triggered by theterminal device.

In some embodiments, the photographing parameters can include at leastone of the exposure parameter, the focus parameter, the zoomingparameter, the photographing direction, or the photographing angle.

In some embodiments, the processor can be further configured to obtainthe to-be-followed object sent by the terminal device forwarded by theserver and control the target UAV to perform follow-photographing on theto-be-followed object. The to-be-followed object can be determined bythe terminal device according to the box-selection operation performedby the user on the target object in the image data.

In some embodiments, the to-be-followed object can include one of a pet,a person, or a vehicle.

In some embodiments, the processor can be further configured todetermine whether an abnormal event occurs in the target flight areaaccording to the image data, and if the abnormal event occurs in thetarget flight area, send the warning prompt information to the warningprocessing platform to allow the warning processing platform to performthe corresponding warning operation according to the warning promptinformation.

In some embodiments, when determining whether the abnormal event occursin the target flight area according to the image data, the processor canbe further configured to input the image data into the predeterminedabnormal event detection model to obtain the abnormal event detectionresult and determine whether the abnormal event occurs in the targetflight area according to the abnormal event detection result. Theabnormal event detection model can be the pre-trained neural networkmodel.

In some embodiments, when sending the warning prompt information to thewarning processing platform, the processor can be further configured toobtain the timestamp information and the location information of theabnormal event, generate the corresponding warning prompt informationaccording to the timestamp information and the location information, andsend the warning prompt information to the warning processing platform.

In some embodiments, the warning processing platform can include thesafety monitoring platform or the traffic controlling platform. Whensending the warning prompt information to the warning processingplatform, the processor can be configured to, if the abnormal event is atraffic abnormal event, send the warning prompt information to thetraffic controlling platform to allow the traffic controlling platformto output the warning prompt information and if the abnormal event is asafety abnormal event, send the warning prompt information to the safetymonitoring platform to allow the safety monitoring platform output thewarning prompt information.

In some embodiments, the processor can be further configured to obtainthe round trip time of the target UAV between the current location andthe base station and the battery life of the target UAV when controllingthe target UAV to perform the flight task, if the difference between thebattery life and the round trip time is smaller than or equal to thepredetermined time threshold, control the target UAV to hover, anddetermine the target waiting point according to the position coordinateof the current location of the target UAV and control the other UAVs ofthe plurality of UAVs to fly to the target waiting point.

In some embodiments, the current location of the target UAV and thetarget waiting point can have the predetermined distance and/or height.

In some embodiments, when obtaining the round trip time of the targetUAV between the current location and the base station, the processor canbe further configured to obtain the first position coordinate of thecurrent location of the target UAV and the second position coordinate ofthe base station, determine the distance between the target UAV and thebase station according to the first position coordinate and the secondposition coordinate, and determine the round trip time according to thedistance between the target UAV and the base station and the flightspeed of the target UAV.

In some embodiments, the processor can be further configured to if thedifference between the battery life and the round trip time is smallerthan or equal to the predetermined time threshold, send the UAVreplacement prompt information to the server to allow the server to sendthe UAV replacement information to the terminal device.

In some embodiments, the processor can be further configured to, afterthe target UAV reaches the base station, control the target UAV to flyto the charging device to allow the charging device to charge thebattery of the target UAV.

Those skilled in the art can understand that for the detailed operationprocesses of the base station, reference can be made to the UAVdispatching method of embodiments of the present disclosure, which isnot repeated here.

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a UAV dispatching system 600consistent with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG. 7 , the UAV scheduling system 600 includes a server 610 and aplurality of base stations 620. The server 610 is communicativelyconnected to the plurality of base stations 620. Each base station 620is communicatively connected to the plurality of UAVs to control theplurality of UAVs. The server 610 can be the server 400 shown in FIG. 5, and the base station 620 can be the base station 500 shown in FIG. 6 .

Those skilled in the art can understand that for the detailed operationprocesses of the UAV dispatching system, reference can be made to theUAV dispatching method of embodiments of the present disclosure, whichis not repeated here.

Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a computer-readablestorage medium. The computer-readable storage medium stores a computerprogram. The computer program includes program instructions that, whenexecuted by the processor, cause the processor to implement theprocesses of the UAV scheduling method of embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

The computer-readable storage medium can be an internal storage unit ofthe server or base station of embodiments of the present disclosure,such as a hard drive or memory of the server or base station. Thecomputer-readable storage medium can also be an external storage deviceof the server or base station, such as a plug-in hard drive, a SmartMedia Card (SMC), a Secure Digital (SD) card, a flash card, etc.,arranged at the server or base station.

The terms used in the present disclosure are merely used to describespecific embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of thepresent disclosure. As used in the present disclosure and the appendedclaims, unless otherwise specified clearly in the context, the singularforms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural forms.

In the present disclosure and the appended claims, the term “and/or” isused to indicate any combination of one or more of the items listed inassociation with the term, and all possible combinations thereof, andincludes these combinations.

The above are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, but thescope of the present disclosure is not limited here. Those skilled inthe art can easily think of various equivalent modifications orreplacements within the scope of the present disclosure. Thesemodifications or replacements should be within the scope of the presentdisclosure. Therefore, the scope of the invention shall be subject tothe scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An aerial vehicle dispatching method comprising:obtaining an aerial vehicle use request; determining a flight taskaccording to the aerial vehicle use request, the flight task including atarget flight area; in response to the flight task, determining a targetaerial vehicle from a plurality of aerial vehicles; controlling thetarget aerial vehicle to perform the flight task in the target flightarea; controlling the target aerial vehicle to obtain sensing data inthe target flight area while performing the flight task; and sending thesensing data to a terminal device.
 2. The method according to claim 1,wherein the flight task includes at least two different operation tasks.3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the flight task includes atleast one of a safety monitoring task, an aerial photography task, aroad monitoring task, or an agricultural operation.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein: the terminal device communicates with aserver; the server is configured to be communicatively connected to oneor more base stations each configured to be communicatively connected toone or more aerial vehicles and control the one or more aerial vehicles;and determining the target aerial vehicle includes: obtaining a targetbase station to which the target aerial vehicle belongs from the one ormore base stations; and sending the flight task and the target flightarea to the target base station to allow the target base station tocontrol the target aerial vehicle to perform the flight task in thetarget flight area.
 5. The method according to claim 4, whereindetermining the target base station includes: determining distances eachbetween the target flight area and one of the one or more base stations,and determining the target base station from the one or more basestations according to the distances; or obtaining base stationidentification information from the aerial vehicle use request, anddetermining a base station corresponding to the base stationidentification information from the one or more base stations as thetarget base station.
 6. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: obtaining a flight route of the target aerial vehicle in thetarget flight area; and controlling the target aerial vehicle to flyaccording to the flight route to cause the target aerial vehicle toperform the flight task in the target flight area.
 7. The methodaccording to claim 6, wherein obtaining the flight route includes:planning the flight route of the target aerial vehicle in the targetflight area; or obtaining the flight route of the target aerial vehiclein the target flight area from the aerial vehicle use request.
 8. Themethod according to claim 1, further comprising: obtaining aphotographing parameter adjustment instruction, the photographingparameter adjustment instruction being used to adjust a photographingparameter of the target aerial vehicle performing the flight task; andadjusting the photographing parameter of the target aerial vehicle. 9.The method according to claim 8, wherein the photographing parameterincludes at least one of an exposure parameter, a focus parameter, azooming parameter, a photographing direction, or a photographing angle.10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, aftercontrolling the target aerial vehicle to obtain the sensing data in thetarget flight area: determining whether an abnormal event occurs in thetarget flight area according to the sensing data; and in response to theabnormal event occurring in the target flight area, sending warningprompt information to a warning processing platform to perform acorresponding warning operation according to the warning promptinformation.
 11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising,before sending the warning prompt information to the warning processingplatform: obtaining a timestamp and location information of the abnormalevent; and generating the warning prompt information according to thetimestamp and the location information.
 12. The method according toclaim 10, wherein: the warning processing platform includes a trafficcontrol platform, the abnormal event is a traffic abnormal event, andsending the warning prompt information to the warning processingplatform includes sending the warning prompt information to the trafficcontrol platform to output the warning prompt information; or thewarning processing platform includes a safety monitoring platform, theabnormal event is a safety abnormal event, and sending the warningprompt information to the warning processing platform includes sendingthe warning prompt information to the safety monitoring platform tooutput the warning prompt information.
 13. The method according to claim10, wherein determining whether the abnormal event occurs in the targetflight area according to the sensing data includes: inputting thesensing data into an abnormal event detection model to obtain anabnormal event detection result, the abnormal event detection modelincluding a pre-trained neural network model; and determining whetherthe abnormal event occurs in the target flight area according to theabnormal event detection result.
 14. The method according to claim 1,further comprising: obtaining a to-be-followed object sent by theterminal device, the to-be-followed object being determined by theterminal device according to a selection performed by a user on a targetobject in the sensing data; and controlling the target aerial vehicle toperform follow-photographing on the to-be-followed object.
 15. Themethod according to claim 14, wherein the to-be-followed object includesat least one of a pet, a person, or a vehicle.
 16. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the aerial vehicle use request includes an aerialvehicle lease request.
 17. An aerial vehicle dispatching methodcomprising: obtaining an aerial vehicle use request; determining aflight task according to the aerial vehicle use request, the flight taskincluding a target flight area; in response to the flight task,determining a target base station from a plurality of base stations;based on the flight task, controlling, by the target base station, anaerial vehicle to fly to the target flight area; after the aerialvehicle reaches the target flight area, controlling, by the target basestation, the aerial vehicle to perform the flight task in the targetflight area; and obtaining sensing data sent by the aerial vehicle, thesensing data being collected while the aerial vehicle performs theflight task.
 18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising:sending the sensing data to a terminal device, obtaining ato-be-followed object determined by the terminal device according to aselection of a user performed on a target object in the sensing data,and controlling the aerial vehicle to perform follow-photographing onthe to-be-followed object; and/or determining whether an abnormal eventoccurs in the target flight area according to the sensing data, and, inresponse to the abnormal event occurring in the target flight area,sending warning prompt information to a warning processing platform toperform a warning operation corresponding to the warning promptinformation.
 19. The method according to claim 17, further comprising:while controlling the aerial vehicle to perform the flight task,obtaining round trip time of the aerial vehicle performing the flighttask between a current location and the target base station and batterylife of the aerial vehicle performing the flight task; in response to adifference between the battery life and the round trip time beingsmaller than or equal to a predetermined time threshold, controlling theaerial vehicle to hover; determining a target waiting point according toa position coordinate of the current location of the aerial vehicle, andcontrolling another aerial vehicle corresponding to the target basestation to fly to the target waiting point; and after the another aerialvehicle reaches the target waiting point, controlling the aerial vehicleperforming the flight task to fly to the target base station andcontrolling the another aerial vehicle to continue to perform the flighttask.